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Apple Music briefly mutes every 10 seconds in iMac USB audio and HomePod mini

I have:

Ventura 13.7.2 (22H313) on a 2017 iMac 27" (the latest OS possible given my old hardware).


Apple Music (1.3.6.14) (but no Apple Music subscription; files playing are my local drive aiff CD files).


In Apple Music, if I select AirPlay (upper right icon) on the iMac and simultaneously select any single HomePod Mini zone, the USB audio playing on the iMac briefly (for half a second ish) mutes each and every 10 seconds.


Perhaps the iMac is trying to listen for one of the AirPlay zones to attempt to sync the audio timing throughout the house between the iMac USB and any AirPlay zone? This suggests maybe I should turn up the volume everywhere to make it easier to hear the zones so they can sync. Will give this a try.


Maybe related: Sometimes - especially when playing music in multiple zone in this way, over an hour or more, the sync gets off such that standing between the iMac zone and an AirPlay zone, there is a considerable and noticeable echo or slapback between the two zones. Ugly (but sometimes funky ; ).


Ideas? Thanks in advance!



[Re-Titled by Moderator]

HomePod mini, 18

Posted on Jan 20, 2025 11:31 AM

Reply
1 reply

Jan 20, 2025 11:50 AM in response to SteveSWall

I play music all day from Mac Music to various HiFis around the house using Airports as receivers and I find Airplay to be flaky at best. It was much improved under Sonoma but has gone downhill a bit with Sequoia in my experience and I usually have to go through my reboot sequence every few of days. Synch issues and dropouts are common too, although I haven't seen the regular one like yours since Ventura.


What I do, in order of increasing inconvenience until it fixes itself is: quit and restart Music; turn the Mac's wireless off and back on; power-cycle the Airports (Airplay receivers); power-cycle my router; reboot the Mac.


One of these usually eventually fixes it. If it doesn't then I'm out of ideas other than a boot into safe mode to clean things up a bit.


Oh - I assume you're not using any audio-enhancement add-ons. If you are you should try diasbling them first.

Apple Music briefly mutes every 10 seconds in iMac USB audio and HomePod mini

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